1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a photographic camera of a self-or in situ-developing type in which use is made of a film unit containing a film processing composition in liquid phase in an integral combination with a photographic film.
2. Prior Art of the Invention:
Several types of the self- or in situ- developing film units (hereinafter referred to as the film unit) of the above kind are commercially available at present. In general, the film unit denoted by reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 includes an exposure region 2 which is destined to be exposed to a light image of an object to be photographed and a bag 3 which is provided integrally with the exposure area 2 and adapted to contain therein a processing liquid composition for developing the latent image printed or recorded on the exposure area 2 and fixing the developed image. Upon completed photographing, the film unit 1 is forcefully discharged outwardly from the camera body through rotation of discharging rollers as is well known. In the course of the film unit 1 being discharged, the bag 3 is ruptured under the squeezing force exerted by the discharging rollers, whereby the processing liquid composition is dilated over the whole exposed area of the film to accomplish the development and the subsequent fixation. The film unit 1 may be divided into two types in view of the relation between exposure and development. In the case of the film unit of one variety, a developed image appears on one and the same face (front face) of the film that has undergone the exposure. To the contrary, in the case of the other variety, the developed image is made to appear at one face (front face) of the film when the other face (rear face) of the film has been subjected to the exposure. It should be first mentioned that the present invention concerns a photographic camera adapted to use the film unit of the first mentioned variety.
In the photographic camera herein concerned, the light rays from an object to be photographed are focussed and projected onto the exposure area 2 of the film unit 1 through an objective lens assembly 5 and a reflecting mirror system 6 arranged so as to reflect the picked-up light rays an odd number of times (accordingly at least once) on the way to the exposure area 2 of the film. Reference should be made to FIG. 2. When the light rays are focussed onto the exposure area 2 directly through the objective lens system 5, there will be produced an image on the film which is inverted in the transverse direction relative to the real image of the object.
Because of the requirement imposed on the photographic camera herein concerned that the incident light rays upon the optical system have to be reflected an odd number of times, the construction or structure of the camera is subject to severe limitation. Besides, in view of the fact that the film unit now available commercially is of a size of 90 mm.times.110 mm, the reflector mirror or mirrors of a correspondingly large size have to be employed, which involves necessarily remarkably large dimensions in the whole structure of the camera. Therefor, an appearance of a compact camera having good operability has been desired as there has been a great demand for cameras in which the film unit described above can be used.
A typical example of a photographic camera which is now commercially available and so designed as to solve the problem discussed above is shown in FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings. Rays of light having passed through the objective lens system 5 are first reflected at a reflecting mirror 6 and then reflected by a reflector 7 having mirror surfaces at both sides thereof and serving also as a focussing unit. In the aiming or focussing operation, the reflected light rays from the reflector 7 are again reflected by the mirror 6 and then reflected to an eye-piece lens 9 through a concave mirror 8 to be observed as a finder image. At the instant when a shutter is released, the reflector 7 is rotated in the clockwise direction, whereby the light rays collected by the objective lens system 5 are focussed onto the film unit contained in a film cassette 10 after having been reflected by the rear mirror surface of the reflector 7. The film unit thus exposed is then caused to pass between discharging rollers 12 and undergoes development in the manner described hereinbefore. The film thus undergoing the developing treatment is then discharged outwardly from the camera body through a discharge port 13. In the inoperative state of the photographic camera of this kind, the reflector mirror 6 is adapted to be rotatably folded about an axis 11 in the direction indicated by an arrow A, while the objective lens system 5 is folded about an axis 14 in the direction indicated by an arrow B with the finder window portion including the eye-piece lens being folded together, whereby the camera can be finally collapsed to a compact configuration such as shown in FIG. 4. However, because the whole structure of the camera is constructed collapsible, the optical system for the field view finder is necessarily implemented in an inconvenient configuration such that even a slight deviation of the eye position of the user from the finder window will make the object to be photographed disappear from the observation through the view finder, involving great inconvenience in the use of the camera. Further, since the camera is unfolded or exploded to the configuration shown in FIG. 3 for photographing, some awkwardness is involved in holding the camera and hence in the attitude of the user, as the result of which deterioration in the image quality such as blurs may be undesirably produced. Moreover, the discharge port 13 for the exposed and developed film is likely to be blocked by the fingers of the hand holding the camera, whereby the film may disadvantageously be crimped. In this way, many difficulties are encountered in designing the collapsible photographic camera of the self- or in situ- developing type in compactness while assuring a facilitated manipulation.